"Reality and Truth Are Never The Same Thing..."

So I am lying on my bed thinking of how to escape my predicament. I did not think things out. Now I have to find Samiya’s father. He is a man being chased by five governments. If the Americans could not find him with all their advanced tools what hope did I have. I will probably get shot before the day is out when they discover that I am just as clueless as they are.

There is no exit strategy; even if I was to outwit them I am not sure that I would make it out of the country alive. All I have done is to delay the inevitable. Samiya, Karen and Mikuyu had all betrayed me.Dominic Ayok the leader of the kidnappers walked into the hovel that I was in. He stood for a few minutes saying nothing. He just stared at me; shook his head and then went out again. I have to get out.I rushed at the guard, he clearly was not expecting that I would do that, he fell and hit his head and lay dazed for a few seconds, I relieved him of his submachine gun and ran into the night. I could hear his screams as he alerted his comrades. As I approached the gate I saw two of them running in my direction, I shot at them. I managed to take one out but the other one managed to find cover and he shot back. I changed course and decided to go over the metallic wall although it didn’t seem prudent to turn my back on them.

I went over the wall. It was night there was no one on the streets, if I can call them that. I did not know where I was going and I was sure that Mogadishu residents were probably too weary to get involved in every gunfight that occurred in their territory.

As I looked back I saw Ayok running in the lead, his face contorted with fury. I knew I would not live if I got captured. I increased my pace. But I was at a great disadvantage because I did not know the place. Although Ayok and his men had a similar predicament he had solved it by hiring local militia to help him track down Samiya’s father.

I ran through the maze, a bullet grazed my shoulder but I did not stop I ran in a zigzagging manner. I could not hear their shouts. I hoped that I had lost them.

I felt a pin like pain prick my flesh and I became drowsy, staggered through the darkness before slamming into corrugated iron. I could hear the shouts of the men as they lifted me and partly dragged me through the passage. I knew it was over Ayok would probably torture me before execution. I fell asleep.

I awoke sometime later, I was not sure how much time had passed but my surroundings were a definite improvement from the Hovel I had been acquainted with over the past could of days. There was even an air conditioning system.

There was no one in the room when I came to. I rose from my sleeping position and tried to stand up. It was a struggle but I finally managed to make my way to the door. I opened it, it was not locked. I cautiously peeped out into the passage, there was not guard.

After watching CNN and the BBC I believed that there was no way such a house could exist in Somalia. Maybe I wasn’t in Somalia, maybe I had been rescued by people who cared and I was in another country.

There was opulence. There were no signs of guards inside the house or any life for that matter. Presently I heard voices coming from one of the rooms. The people seemed to be having a heated argument in English. Now I was convinced that I had been rescued from my ordeal. I quickly made my way towards the room and opened the door. There was no one inside. It was the TV and the news channel was playing.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and swivelled around expecting to see Ayok or one of his men. But I was surprised to see an old man smiling back at me and gesturing for me to follow him.

He did not say anything but as I looked into his face I could see a resemblance. I had seen him somewhere, but I could not remember where I had met him. It was possible that he was a friend of my father. He led me to the garden outside and he invited me to seat down on one of the garden chairs that was placed before a table. Still there was silence. He raised his arm and as if by magic a man appeared carrying a tray filled with food. When I laid my eyes on the delicacies in front of me I realised for the first time that I was hungry. I greedily picked up a piece of meat.

The old man broke the silence with laughter,

“Even strong men like you get hungry. I hear that you and your friends have been looking for me.”I stopped chewing and I looked at him again and I remembered where I had seen him before. His picture had been all over the news in the nineties and he was still in the top 20 of Interpol’s most wanted list. He was older but something’s do not change even as we age. His proud forehead stood out and the intensity in his eyes reminded me. I was in the presence of feared warlord Yusuf Ahmed. The man who gave Americans sleepless night and he was rumoured to be the leader of various pirate groups that put world trade in danger.

The piece of meat lodged in my throat. I tried to get it dislodged through natural means but I failed. I had to grab the glass of juice and gulp it down thirstily. Samiya’s father laughed.“I also hear that you got my daughter killed…” I could not answer. I just stared blankly at him. I had just gotten out of the fire into the frying pan.

He continued, “Do not worry my friend; we will all answer for our crimes before the Great One. But until that time I also want my own answers. So eat, drink and be merry, then we will begin.” He abruptly stood up the smile was gone. His eyes looked into my regretfully for a second before he sauntered away.

I remained in my position for a long time before I was disturbed by someone clearing their throat persistently. It was the servant; he looked at me and looked at the tray of food, when I didn’t respond he took it away. He returned a few minutes later and he asked me to follow him. He led me to another part of the garden and I could see the ocean in a distance. In front of us was a gazebo and there was a female looking out into the ocean. I figured that I was about to meet Samiya’s mother.

The servant left me standing at the gazebo with the woman. I steeled myself for the accusations that she would unleash on me. Even from behind I could tell that she was Samiya’s mother. They had the same pose and body built. She was aging well. Maybe I should make a run for it since there were no visible guards anywhere. But I wanted to see what Samiya would have looked like in thirty years.

I cleared my throat a couple of times but she did not turn around. But finally she turned and it was like looking at a ghost. The first thing I noticed where her eyes. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. My heart stopped beating as I looked into her eyes. It was not possible.

you back to the authorities as soon as you give us an answer."

I looked at him and I knew I had to lie. He was not the only one who could spin a tale. I admitted that I was a double agent working with Samiya's group to infiltrate the military and cause a coup. I further informed them that I could not give them the exact location of Samiya's father but I could work with them to locate him in Somalia. I did not think that they would agree to my plan but they did. They agreed to let me lead them to their desired asset.​But they did not take me at my word. They spirited me out of Juba and delivered me to the heart of Mogadishu. This is how I found myself in Somalia, hunting for a man I did not know and wishing that they had shot me instead of Mikuyu.